The District of Columbia National Guard is the branch of the United States National Guard based in Washington, D.C.. It comprises both D.C. Army National Guard and D.C. Air National Guard components.
The President of the United States is the Commander in Chief of the National Guard of the District of Columbia. Command is exercised through the Secretary of Defense and the Commanding General, Joint Force Headquarters, District of Columbia National Guard. The Secretary of Defense has delegated his command authority to the Secretary of the Army for the District of Columbia Army National Guard and the Secretary of the Air Force for the District of Columbia Air National Guard. The District of Columbia National Guard is commanded by a Major General with a Brigadier General as his or her adjutant. The Mayor of the District of Columbia, or the United States Marshal for the District of Columbia, or the National Capital Service Director, may request the Commander in Chief to aid them in suppressing insurrection and enforcement of the law.
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Units
- District of Columbia Army National Guard
- 74th Troop Command (United States)
- 372nd Military Police Battalion ("Red Hand")
- 547th Transportation Company
- 104th Maintenance Company
- 260th Regiment (Regional Training Institute)
- 257th Army Band "The Band of the Nation's Capital"
- 1-224th Aviation Security and Support Battalion
- D Company (Air Ambulance)
- Detachment 1, A Company
- 1-126th General Support Aviation Battalion
- Detachment 1, C Company (Air Ambulance)
- Mobilization Augmentation Command
- District of Columbia Medical Command
- Detachment 4, Operational Support Airlift Command
- Recruiting and Retention Battalion
- National Guard Bureau Legal Support Office
- 74th Troop Command (United States)
- District of Columbia Air National Guard
- 113th Wing
- 113th Operations Group
- 121st Fighter Squadron
- 201st Airlift Squadron
- 113th Maintenance Group
- 113th Support Group
- 113th Medical Group
- 121st Weather Group
- 231st Combat Communications Squadron
- 113th Operations Group
- The Naval militia of the District of Columbia remains an authorized force by Federal statute, but has been inactive for several decades with no current membership.
- 113th Wing
Maps District of Columbia National Guard
History
Creating the District of Columbia
The Residence Act of 1790 established that the country would create a new capital city rather than selecting an existing city. In 1801, The Organic Act designed Washington, D.C. as the capital of the United States and put its governance under the control of Congress. Which militia would protect a city without a governor under the control of Congress?
Establishing the D.C. National Guard
The D.C. National Guard came about in part due to the efforts of President Thomas Jefferson, the first President to spend his term in Washington, D.C. He came into office during a time when strife between two major political parties was threatening to tear the new country apart. Soon, the commanding generals of the two closest militia units were members of President Jefferson's rival political party. At this point, there was only a very small regular army, and they were mostly patrolling the border. If one of the state's militias tried to force political will, there would be no way to keep them from marching on the Capitol and coercing--or even overthrowing--the government.
President Jefferson saw how vulnerable America's democracy would be if the will of a military general could keep the legislative body from enacting the will of the people. To prevent this, the D.C. National Guard was created in the Assumption Act of May 3, 1802.
The D.C. National Guard is the only local National Guard with a national mission--to protect our Federal Government.
On October 30, 1802, the D.C. National Guard held its first muster. President Jefferson hand-selected his new officers and was known to enjoy attending drills. A year later, Congress officially recognized the organization.
The Bladensburg races
The fledging D.C. Militia was tested during the War of 1812 and the Battle of Bladensburg. Maryland and Virginia, pre-occupied with attacks on their own territory, were sluggish to send troops to D.C. The D.C. Militia, even when augmented by regular forces, was overwhelmed and ordered to withdrawal. They watched the nation's capital burn. After the incident, Congress too noticed and increased the size and equipment of the D.C. Militia.
The Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 372nd Military Police Battalion, organized May 3, 1802, which traces its lineage to the Columbian Division, is one of only nineteen Army National Guard units with campaign credit for the War of 1812.
Francis Scott Key and the national anthem
The war of 1812 would produce an American treasure and one of the most famous veterans of the D.C. National Guard: Francis Scott Key. Key was a lieutenant with the Georgetown Field Artillery of the D.C. Militia. During the British bombardment in Baltimore Barbour, he was sent to Maryland to negotiate a prisoner exchange. After negotiations, the ship's commander felt he had seen too much and needed to stay on the ship through the rest of the attack. As he watched the flag above Fort McHenry, he wrote the poem that is now the lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner--our national anthem.
Inaugural heritage
The D.C. National Guard plays a special role in Presidential Inaugurations, a tradition starting in the earliest days of our nation. The National Guard has been at every Presidential Inauguration, starting with an honor detail which rode with President Washington in recognition of his time as Virginia's militia commander.
The D.C. Guard's participation in inaugurations may be that old, but certainly takes form in 1860. The election of Abraham Lincoln triggered several southern states to secede from the Union. There was no secret service at the time, but Lieutenant General Winfield Scott ordered the D.C. Militia to protect the president-elect from harm. The D.C. Militia guarded the parade routes, sappers preceded the president-elect, and Cavalry rode alongside of him, bucking their horses to make it difficult for snipers to get a lock. The new president gave his first salute to a D.C. Guardsman and an unbroken tradition of inaugural service was born.
The National Guard can be deputized as special police, a role that the active military cannot. That makes the National Guard an important element in large-scale missions such as the inauguration. In 2009, the D.C. National Guard led a group of over ten thousand National Guard Soldiers and Airmen to support he largest inauguration in history. Missions includes traffic control, crowd management, public transit assistance, and a parade marching element.
American Civil War
As war approached, the District militia was commanded by Major General Weightman. His subordinates included Major General Force; Brigadier Generals Bacon and Carrington; and Brigadier General Robert Ould, who would move to Virginia and later join the Confederate States Army.
Maryland and Virginia were both slave states at the beginning of the war, surrounding Washington with potential enemy territory. Three days before the shots at Fort Sumter, President Lincoln called in the D.C. Militia to protect the capital, making it famous for being "the first man...first company...first regiment" called to duty for the American Civil War.
The D.C. National Guard saw an unfortunate first, when Private Manual C. Causten became the first military prisoner of war during the American Civil War.
D.C. National Guard Soldiers were on active duty for four years, fighting in the Battle of Manassas and the Valley Campaign. They maintained their historical role as protectors of the Capital, manning the forts which encircled Washington, D.C. At Fort Stevens, D.C. Soldiers including African-American Quartermaster clerks who were originally not allowed to join combat regiments. As D.C. faced attack from the Confederate States Army, they were issued rifles and told to defend their city. President Abraham Lincoln traveled to view the fighting, where he was pulled from harm's way by a D.C Guardsman. It would be the only time in history that a standing president would face enemy fire.
Protecting the nation's borders
From its earliest days, the D.C. National Guard remained ready to accept the call to protect our nation, participating in the Creek War, Seminole Wars and Mexican-American War In 1898, the D.C National Guard's 1st Volunteer Infantry fought alongside the United States Volunteers during the Spanish-American War, where they earned credit for the Santiago Campaign.
The D.C National Guard served with border patrols on the Southwest border in 1916 during the Pancho Villa raids, a mission similar to the one they would return to in the 21st century in support of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
World War I
Fearing espionage, the D.C. National Guard was recalled to active service 17 days before the U.S. officially entered World War I to protect reservoirs and power plants around Washington, D.C. City officials felt that they could trust the D.C. Guard for this duty, knowing that the men and women were from the communities they would protect.
In 1917, The 1st Separate Regiment was mustered into service and renamed the 372nd Infantry. The U.S. was unsure of what to do with an African-American regiment, so they were attached the French army's 157th "Red Hand" Division. The Soldiers fought in Meuse-Argonne, Lorraine and Alsace, where they were awarded the Croix de Guerre--one of the highest honors of the French Military. The unit was given the Red Hand name as an honor, which the 372nd Military Police Battalion still uses.
World War II
When the U.S. entered World War II, the D.C. Guard mobilized immediately. The D.C. Guard was home to the headquarters of the famed 29th Infantry Division. The D.C. National Guard's 121st Combat Engineers was among the first units on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Other D.C. Guard personnel fought in the Pacific theater.
In 1940, the 121st Observation Squadron was organized and began operations at Bolling Field. At the end of the war, it was merged with the 121st Fighter Squadron, Single Engine, and the 352nd Fighter Group, creating the lineage of the D.C Air National Guard's 113th Wing. The 113th Wing carries the campaign credit from the Antisubmarine Campaign, the Po Valley Campaign, the North Apennines Campaign and the Rome-Arno Campaign.
The Cold War era
At the end of World War II, the D.C. National Guard faced the enormous task of restructuring and retraining. The Cold War years marked a new relationship between the National Guard and active military. In 1947, the U.S. Air Force was designated a separate branch of the military, the D.C. Air National Guard became a reality in 1950, when the 113th Wing received federal recognition.
In 1951, the D.C. Army National Guard's 715th Truck Company became one of the few National Guard units to mobilize for the Korean War. They called their orderly room in Korea the Blair House after the President's Guest House.
In 1961, the 113th Wing spent a year activated in support of the Berlin Crisis. In 1968, they were activated by President Lyndon B. Johnson in response to the Pueblo Crisis. The bulk of the unit was assigned to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Later, many of these Airmen deployed to the Vietnam War.
Vietnam
During the Vietnam War, the most notable thing about the was that it had been purposefully left out of the war. Fear that a National Guard call-up would prove unpopular left most National Guardsmen out of the fight. As part of the individual or "levied" replacement program, Air National Guard pilots were allowed to deploy to Vietnam. The 113th Wing established a Replacement Training Unit to send F-100C Super Sabre pilots to the conflict. In 1968, Lieutenant Colonel Sherman Flanagan, a D.C. Guardsman, was shot down over Vietnam, one of the few National Guard casualties.
9/11 Response
Continuous combat air patrols were maintained over Washington, D.C. and New York City until the spring of 2002. Today, the D.C. Air National Guard's 113th Aerospace Control Alert Detachment, day, night, rain or shine, are on alert 24/7 protecting the skies of Washington, D.C.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, a duty officer from the 113th Wing, D.C. Air National Guard, received a call from the U.S. Secret Service with instructions from the White House to get the F-16s in the air. The Pentagon had just been hit, and the white House knew another airliner, United Flight 93--had been hijacked. After a call with the White House operations center, the 113th Wing commander issued a scrambled order to set up a combat air patrol over D.C. and to deter all aircraft within 20 miles with "whatever force is necessary...to keep from hitting a building downtown." As the F-16 crew returned due to fuel, the next crew went out. There was no time to arm them with missiles, so each fighter went out carrying only 500 training bullets--just enough for a five-second burst. At the time, they believed that there may be more hostile aircraft. Each committed to doing whatever necessary to stop any hostile aircraft they encountered, up to and including ramming the airliner. By this point, fighters from Langley Air Force Base and the fighters from the D.C. National Guard were put in contact with each other. Flight 93 was no longer a threat, but the two units worked together to escort aircraft out of the airspace.
Meanwhile, with little more information that several people at the Pentagon were dead and several more inured, the D.C. Army National Guard helicopter pilots were launched from Davidson Army Air Field to the site of the attack on the Pentagon. They began ferrying casualties to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and medical personnel back to the Pentagon.
In the days after September 11, 600 Soldiers from the D.C. Army National Guard were mobilized around the city, including the Capitol building. The Mobilization Augmentation Command reported to duty immediately, becoming the first National Guard unit mobilized for the Global War on Terror.
Global War on Terror
The D.C. National Guard has deployed more than 1,200 Soldiers and Airmen to support the Global War on Terror. The D.C. Guard completed over 90 whole-unit deployments, including tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, Saudi Arabia and stateside missions as part of Operation Noble Eagle. Many D.C. National Guard Soldiers and Airmen served multiple deployments. Since September 11, 2001, the 113th Wing has provided 24-hour protective coverage over the skies of our Nation's Capitals, as the "D.C. National Guard Capitol Guardians."
The D.C National Guard served with border patrols on the Southwest border in 1916 during the Pancho Villa raids, a mission similar to the one they would return to in the 21st century in support of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Unique law
Normally, American federal law specifically charges the U.S. National Guard with dual federal and state missions. As the U.S. federal government abolished the jurisdiction of the state of Maryland and states rights in Washington, D.C. to establish a federal district, there is no elected governor to command this guard unit. The District of Columbia National Guard is the only National Guard that reports only to the U.S. President.
Supervision and control of District of Columbia National Guard was delegated by the President of the United States to the Secretary of Defense pursuant to Executive Order 10030, 26 January 1949 with authority given to the Secretary to designate officials of the National Military Establishment to administer affairs of the District of Columbia National Guard. The Secretary of the Army was directed to act for the Secretary of Defense in all matters pertaining to the ground component, and the Secretary of the Air Force was directed to act in all matters pertaining to the air component of the District of Columbia National Guard by Secretary of Defense memorandum, 2 February 1949.
The D.C. National Guard is the only United States military force empowered to function in a state or, in this case, a district status. Those functions range from limited actions during non-emergency situations to full scale law enforcement of martial law when local law enforcement officials can no longer maintain civil control. The National Guard may be called into federal service in response to a call by the President or Congress.
When the D.C. National Guard is called to federal service, the U.S. President serves as Commander-in-Chief. The federal mission assigned to the U.S. National Guard is "To provide properly trained and equipped units for prompt mobilization for war, National emergency or as otherwise needed."
Commanding General lineage
The District of Columbia Commanding General is the senior military officer and commander of the District of Columbia National Guard.
However, the Congressional Act of 1871 placed a governor at the head of the District of Columbia and the District of Columbia Militia, and from 1871 to 1887, there was no Commanding General. in 1887, the position of governor was eliminated and the Commissioner from the government was established with five appointed commissioners and the position of Commanding General returned.
As of today, there have been 23 Commanding Generals of the District of Columbia National Guard.
Joint Task Force-District of Columbia
Joint Task Force-District of Columbia, is an element of the District of Columbia National Guard. It leverages unique National Guard capabilities to support a wide range of challenging federal and community incidents. It usually is constituted as part of a larger local or Federal effort to prepare for or react to an emerging situation, including National Special Security Events.
It is tasked to support Presidential Inaugurations, State of the Union (SOTA) addresses, summits like the Nuclear Security Summit, protests, weather-related storms, the annual Washington, D.C. 4 July event, among others.
JTF-DC participates in all inter-agency planning and conducts planning with joint partners in the National Capital Region (NCR), with a focus on "unity of effort." Additionally, JTF-DC provides world-class support, including traffic control, crowd management and security, for Presidential Inaugurations and related official ceremonies and events throughout the inaugural period, continuing the tradition of military participation in the Presidential Inauguration of the Commander-in- Chief dating back to the Inauguration of George Washington in 1789.
State Partnership Program
The State Partnership Program (SPP) is a joint program of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and the individual states, territories, and District of Columbia.
The SPP has been successfully building relationships for over 20 years that includes 73 unique security partnerships involving 79 nations around the globe[i]. SPP links a unique component of the Department of Defense - a state's National Guard - with the armed forces or equivalent of a partner country in a cooperative, mutually beneficial relationship.
The District of Columbia has one country in the SPP. Jamaica joined the SPP with the District of Columbia National Guard in 1999. Jamaica fall under the area of operations of SOUTHCOM.
D.C. National Guard museum
The D.C. National Guard Museum, also known as Brigadier General Wes Hamilton Museum, is a military museum of the District of Columbia National Guard. It is located at the District of Columbia National Guard headquarters at the D.C. Armory, adjacent to the Stadium-Armory Metro Stop near RFK Stadium.
The collection includes (inside) military artifacts and memorabilia including National Guard weapons, uniforms and diaries, and outside, static displays including an F-16 Fighting Falcon and a UH-1Y Venom Huey helicopter.
D.C. National Guard decorations
Awards and decorations of the D.C. National Guard are presented to members of the United States National Guard in addition to regular United States military decorations. The District of Columbia National Guard maintains a series of military decorations for issuance with such awards presented under the authority of the District of Columbia Commanding General.
District of Columbia National Guard Awards:
- District of Columbia Distinguished Service Medal
- District of Columbia Meritorious Service Medal
- District of Columbia Commendation Medal
- District of Columbia Achievement Medal
- District of Columbia Homeland Defense Medal (ribbon has three red stars in the center).
- District of Columbia NCO Commendation Ribbon
- District of Columbia Enlisted Excellence Ribbon
- District of Columbia Long and Faithful Service Medal (one medal for three years, recognition for five years and additional five-year increments noted with Roman Numerals up to 45 years)
- District of Columbia Emergency Service Ribbon (Deactivated)
- District of Columbia Recognition Ribbon
- District of Columbia Special Award Ribbon
- District of Columbia Recruiting and Retention Ribbon (Deactivated)
- District of Columbia Community Service Ribbon
- District of Columbia Ceremonial/Drill Team/Color Guard Ribbon
- District of Columbia Active Duty Ribbon (Deactivated)
- District of Columbia Attendance Ribbon
- District of Columbia Commanding General's Outstanding Unit Award
Notable D.C. Guardsmen
- John Mason (planter), son of George Mason, a Founding Father of the United States, Mason was the first commanding general of the D.C. Militia, appointed personally by President Thomas Jefferson in 1802.
- John Peter Van Ness, was an American politician who was a United States Representative from New York and who served as the tenth Mayor of Washington, D.C. and the second Commanding General of the District of Columbia Militia.
- Francis Scott Key was a lieutenant with the Georgetown Field Artillery of the D.C. Militia. During the British bombardment in Baltimore Barbour, he wrote the poem that is now the lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner--our national anthem.
- Roger C. Weightman was an American politician, civic leader, and printer. He was the eighth Mayor of Washington, D.C. from 1824 to 1827 and served as Commanding General of the District of Columbia Militia from 1847 to 1849.
- Albert Lyman Cox was a College Football All-Southern Team end for the North Carolina Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina. He was elected as a Democrat in the North Carolina House of Representatives and in 1916, Cox was appointed North Carolina state superior judge.
- William H. Abendroth served as Chief of the Army Division (now Director of the Army National Guard) at the National Guard Bureau from 1951 to 1955.
- Charles L. Southward served as the Chief of the Army Division (now Director of the Army National Guard) at the National Guard Bureau from 1964 to 1967.
- Russell C. Davis was the first African-American to serve as National Guard Bureau Chief and at the time of his retirement, Davis was the last member of the U.S. Air Force Aviation Cadet program to still be serving on active duty in the U.S. Air Force.
- David F. Wherley Jr. At the time of the September 11 attacks in 2001, Wherley was commander of 113th Wing, the Guard unit responsible for protecting Washington, D.C. That morning, Wherley ordered his pilots, who did not launch until after the Pentagon attack, to operate weapons free, meaning that they were permitted to shoot at will.
External links
- Official website
- Recruiting website
- Bibliography of the District of Columbia Army National Guard History compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History
- Official DCNG Joint Force HQ Public Affairs Flickr
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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